MacBook Battery Replacement in Singapore

Battery gone by lunchtime, or the Mac switching itself off at 30% with "Service Recommended" showing in Battery settings. We fit a new MacBook battery in MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models at four walk-in branches, using quality Original Grade batteries priced against your exact model.

This page covers the repair itself: how to tell the battery is the problem, and why a glued-in battery on a 2016-or-later MacBook Pro takes longer than a screwed-in one on a 2015 Air. For the money side, your model's price is in the table above, and our MacBook battery replacement cost guide weighs a battery against a new machine.

When Does a MacBook Need a New Battery?

When macOS shows "Service Recommended", when the cycle count is up near 1,000, or when the Mac shuts down with charge still showing. Any one of those is enough.

• It switches off at 20 or 30%. A worn battery still reports charge but can't deliver the current the Mac asks for under load, so it cuts out early.
• It only runs on the adapter. Pull the cable and it dies on the spot. If it won't take a charge at all, read about MacBook charging port replacement before blaming the battery.
• The MacBook battery is draining fast. If the cycle count is low and there's no warning, software is the likelier cause, and our guide to a MacBook battery draining fast covers what to rule out first.
• The trackpad has stopped clicking, or the case has lifted. That's swelling, and it jumps the queue. See below.

Our guide to the signs your MacBook battery needs replacement goes deeper on when to replace a MacBook battery, or bring it in and we'll read the battery free.

What Does "Service Recommended" or "Service Battery" Mean on a MacBook?

It means macOS has measured your battery holding noticeably less charge than it did new, and is flagging it for replacement. Recent versions of macOS show "Service Recommended" under Battery in System Settings. Older versions call the same warning "Service Battery". The Mac still works. You just get less time between charges, and unless the case is bulging you can keep using it while you arrange the swap.

For the detail, hold Option, click the Apple menu, choose System Information, then Power, and read the Cycle Count. One cycle is a full battery's worth of use, spread over however many days that takes. Apple rates current MacBook batteries for 1,000 cycles. A Mac at 300 cycles with a warning has a battery that aged badly. One at 1,100 with no warning is living past its rating. Same repair either way.

Is Your MacBook Battery Swollen? Stop Charging It

Stop charging it, shut it down and bring it in. A swelling battery is the one battery fault that shouldn't wait.

On a MacBook Air, a swollen battery often shows up at the trackpad first, because the trackpad sits right on top of the battery. It rises slightly above the case and stops clicking. Then the bottom case bulges so the Mac rocks on a flat desk, and the keyboard can get pushed up from below. MacBook Pros go the same way. Don't press anything back down, and don't try to prise the battery out yourself.

So check for swelling before you pay for a MacBook trackpad replacement. If the battery is what's lifting the trackpad, the trackpad is the wrong part to buy first.

Which MacBooks Have Glued-In Batteries?

Every MacBook Pro from the 2012 Retina models onward, the 12-inch MacBook, the Intel MacBook Air from 2018, and every Apple silicon MacBook. The older unibody Pros and the Airs up to 2017 have batteries held in with screws. That one detail decides how long the job takes.

Screwed in, the quicker job:

• MacBook Pro 13-inch and 15-inch unibody, 2009 to 2012 (A1278, A1286), and the 17-inch to 2011 (A1297)
• MacBook Air 11-inch and 13-inch, 2010 and 2011 (A1370, A1369)
• MacBook Air 11-inch and 13-inch from 2012, the 13-inch running to 2017 (A1465, A1466)

Glued in, the slower job:

• MacBook Pro Retina 13-inch and 15-inch, 2012 to 2015 (A1425, A1502, A1398)
• MacBook 12-inch, 2015 to 2017 (A1534)
• Every Intel MacBook Pro from 2016 to 2020, including the 16-inch from 2019, and the Intel MacBook Air from 2018 to 2020 (A1932, A2179)
• Every Apple silicon MacBook: the M1 MacBook Air, the 13-inch M1 and M2 Pro, the 14-inch and 16-inch Pro from 2021, and the MacBook Air from M2 onward

A screwed-in battery lifts out in one piece. A glued-in one has to be released from its adhesive without bending the cells, because a bent or punctured lithium cell can catch fire, and the logic board sits right beside it. That's slow, careful work, and it's why we'd talk anyone out of trying to change a MacBook battery at home with a kit.

Changing the Battery on a 2015 MacBook Pro or MacBook Air

A 2015 MacBook Air is one of the easier battery jobs we do, and a 2015 MacBook Pro is one of the slower ones. Same year. Different construction.

The 2015 Air, 11-inch or 13-inch (A1465, A1466), has a screwed-in battery, so a Mac Air battery replacement on that generation is straightforward. The 2015 MacBook Pro Retina, 13-inch (A1502) or 15-inch (A1398), has a glued one, so a MacBook Pro Retina battery replacement takes longer on the bench. The 12-inch MacBook from 2015 is glued too.

The 2015 Pro and Air both keep their files on a removable SSD rather than storage soldered to the board. If yours is otherwise sound, a battery is the repair that keeps it going. If it needs a battery and a screen and a keyboard, that's a different conversation, and what makes some MacBooks harder to repair than others explains where the limits sit.

How Long Does It Take to Replace a MacBook Battery?

Usually the same day once the battery for your model is here. We don't put a fixed time on it, because a screwed-in Air and a glued-in 16-inch Pro are very different amounts of work, and you get a realistic timing when we quote.

Your files are not touched. A battery replacement doesn't involve the drive, so nothing is wiped and nothing is reinstalled. Back up anyway, as a habit. Backing up a MacBook before a repair takes about ten minutes.

Where to Get a MacBook Battery Replacement in Singapore

Citri Mobile does MacBook Pro and MacBook Air battery replacement in Singapore at four walk-in branches: People's Park Centre in Chinatown, Tampines, Yishun and Jurong Point, open 11am to 9pm daily. Addresses and directions are on the locations page.

No appointment is needed, but message us first on WhatsApp at +65 9456 6455 with your model so we can confirm the battery is in stock before you make the trip. Every battery carries a warranty of up to 100 days, honoured at any branch, and the price in the table above is nett.

Related Guides and Repairs

• MacBook battery replacement cost in Singapore: prices by size, and when a battery beats buying new
• Signs your MacBook battery needs replacement: each warning sign in detail
• MacBook battery draining fast: what to rule out before buying a battery
• MacBook not charging: adapter, port or battery, and how to tell
• MacBook repair shop: screens, keyboards, charging ports and logic board work